Chapter 12

AUGUST

"He's so handsome."

I always hear that comment daily.

"He's so cold."

That was the comment I always expected. But I loved to hear. But today, she didn't sugarcoat; she told me exactly what I wasn't expecting to hear.

'She was right,' Eros said. 'You gain nothing from locking up your own emotions.'

The fact that the woman I badly wanted to hate is the one making me doubt myself is annoying.

'The mate bond is ruining you, August, ' Eros proceeded. 'You kissed her even though you act cold to her. If this goes on, you might lose control.'

That darn mate bond again! "Eros, this is not my fault. The prophecy..."

I got back to the lab. "...is why I must make sure my brothers rejected her."

"August," Egzon called, already waiting. "How did it go? My dad just called that the alpha and his wife tuned to the airport."

I finally heaved a breath of relief. Making Egzon my friend gives me access to Dad's every movement, since Egzon was Dad's driver.

"Why would you even help them?" Egg scolded. "You said you hated the mate bond, right?"

Egg was saying the same thing I wanted to ask myself.

This mate bond would cause one of my brothers or even me to lose our lives, so why did I still help in prolonging it?

"August, are you sure you're not falling in love with your stepsister?" Egg tapped me this time, and I snapped back to reality, staring at him like I'd lost my senses, and funnily, it was true.

I'd lost my senses.

"I don't know what is going on in my life anymore, Egg. June hates me so much now, but why was I doing these?"

'The prophecy is why you rejected her. It can never be the reason why you're acting out of character, Eros added to my trauma.

After my wolf, Egg, was the next most closet person to me. He grew up in the same manor as me, and his dad was close to Dad aside from being his driver.

Egzon was the only one I could be vulnerable with, vent my emotions to, and accept criticism from, aside from my wolf. "You're not stupid for feeling this way," he pacified at last, but I could sense a bigger reprimand coming after his calmness. "You're insane!"

Yes.

This was the Egzon I know. Most people at school call him THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM. He would make you feel comfortable with his words before striking the hardest truth you weren't expecting.

He got up from the table and walked around me in circles. "Now that the alpha is leaving the country, I know they will be there for longer than a week."

"Dad's schedule showed that he wouldn't be here for a month," I sighed. "I would be free from his scolds, though."

Egzon laughed. "See you being foolish. Do you think your stepsister would be farther from your brothers now? They would fuck the hell out of her, and there's nothing you would be able to do."

Funnily enough, he was right.

Just now, the rage of perceiving July all over Magdalene's body pushed out the jealousy in me, hence why I kissed her.

"She must be thinking she captured my heart now," I wondered aloud. "July would be happy to flaunt the mate bond before my face."

Egg snapped his finger. "Exactly! You just dug your own grave with this rash action."

My heart fell. 'That was a rash decision, August. ' My wolf also agreed.

I slowly turned to Egg. "Will you watch me being humiliated like this, Egg?"

"What.... "

My chest began to heave more madly than I ever thought it would heave. "I have to make sure she lost interest in my brothers... Especially June!"

"August, what the heck..."

•••••

EVENING BACK AT HOME

I wished I could go there and join them in the happy dinner, but the 'August' in me would never do that.

Egg's text entered. "Hey, step number 1, barge into that dining and snatch her away!"

"June would tear me apart with'" I text back hurriedly.

Egg took a while to reply. "Why are you so slow? If June argued with you, that would be the second scolding today. Do you think she would love that?"

Thinking about it, Egg seems right.

'She's pur mate too.'

I got out of bed, didn't bother to put on anything, and walked slowly to the dining room.

"Talk about the devil," April laughed. "Mary said you alerted her about Dad's coming back and helped with their return?"

I looked around the table, and they seemed to be in a happy mood for that, and once again, I blamed myself.

"It's nothing." I walked up to the table, pretending not to be the froxen magdalene.

I grabbed the spoon to pour some soup for myself, even though I didn't come here to eat. I came to take her away, and just one outburst from June, and I would have any reason to take her away.

The dinner continued, as they played on like I wasn't there, since I was sitting at the far end of the dining hall.

My heart was thumping madly. I wanted to look up and join them so badly, but I couldn't, and June was awfully silent, which irritates me even more.

"I have somewhere to be at." July got up and left the dining, making it less funny now.

No one said anything to me, and I could still feel Magdalene's gaze on me.

'Plan failed,' My wolf said, and I set the spoon down to leave. I will just let them be. The next time would be like this.

"August, join us, the rice is very tasty." Magdalene stopped me as I was about to get out of the dining hall already. '

My heart pulsed fo r some reason I cant explain.

"You can leave him alone. Helping today must make him feel entitled." Finally, June spoke, and I turned.

"You seem so happy to run your mouth around, don't you?" I didn't waste time replying curtly to him, as I have no intention of staying here in the first place, and your entitlement is nothing to me."

His eyes changed, and I could tell that he was angry by now.

"You..."

"August!" Someone stopped me, and I looked behind me to see Egzon there, sweating profusely.

Why would I be here?

"Eggs?"

He was still breathing heavily. "You.. You have to come with me."

I rushed to him in haste. "What happened?"

"July... July is dead."